Part 2
The pickup truck wiggled in the soft soil of the corn farm. Ma. Teresa “Baby” Calion pulled the four-wheel-drive lever into gear, gripped the wheel, and pressed the gas. The vehicle lurched forward, suspension creaking, but she kept it steady, the machine following her lead.
The destination was just off the main road in Brgy. Kirahon, an upland village on the hills of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental. After a short drive, the vehicle halted before an unfinished two-storey farmhouse, standing alone in the middle of wide fields under a clear blue sky.
From one side rose the mountains; from another, the second-floor veranda looked out over Macajalar Bay, its calm blue waters reaching toward the open sea. Lining the coast below, the massive power plants and factories of the PHIVIDEC industrial estate offered their own kind of allure—or repulsion—depending on one’s perspective.
It’s easy to see why Calion chose this property to keep her ailing father safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Residents of neighboring Tagoloan town, they settled in Brgy. Kirahon at the height of the pandemic, in 2021.
“Sabi namin kapag ito si papa mahawa ng COVID, hindi siya maka-survive (We knew that if my father caught COVID, he wouldn’t survive),” she told the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
“Mayroong asthma ang papa ko. Akala namin, noong pupunta kami dito, mawala ang asthma niya kasi walang tao at presko dito (My father has asthma. We thought that when we came here, his asthma would go away because there were no people and the air was fresh),” she said.
Four years later, she wants to move out. “Hindi na siya safe dito. Hindi na siya safe (It’s no longer safe for him here. He’s no longer safe),” Calion said.
She could not understand at first why her father’s health worsened. She’s had to rush him to the hospital for chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) at least twice in the past year, most recently in July, because he found it difficult to breathe, she said.
She now believes the power plants and factories in Macajalar Bay may be harming her father.
From the farmhouse, the view takes in the towering stacks of Mindanao’s first coal-fired power plant — the 210-megawatt (MW) STEAG Mindanao Coal — and, beside it, the island’s biggest coal facility, the 405-MW FDC Misamis Power.
The plants are among the industries hosted inside the PHIVIDEC industrial estate that straddles Villanueva and neighboring Tagoloan. The Villanueva area also hosts steel operations and a melting plant and rolling mill project, alongside packaging and container manufacturing facilities.
“Sa Tagoloan, ‘di siya inaano ng asthma, kaya lang mainit at matao…. Ngayon, palaging ina-attack ng asthma. ‘Yung nebulizer niya isang cellophane na. Ngayon walang asthma, bukas meron.”
(In Tagoloan, his asthma wasn’t really triggered, though it was hot and crowded there… Now, he’s always having asthma attacks. We’ve accumulated nebulizers in one cellophane. Today he doesn’t have asthma, tomorrow he does.)
Calion began to notice black soot coating the farmhouse — on the rooftop, atop the wardrobe, and clinging to the walls and various surfaces.
She echoed the stories PCIJ heard from long-time residents of other villages: that PHIVIDEC’s chimneys released fumes at night, sometimes with the faint smell of a burning match, other times far worse — though they could not always tell which plant was responsible.
They spoke of health concerns with an air of resignation, as if nothing could be done. Yet their voices grew livelier when they talked about the jobs the plants created and the outreach programs they offered.
“This is common among communities hosting coal plants,” said Larry Pascua, senior energy program officer of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), a broad coalition of civil society groups, grassroots organizations, and advocates campaigning against coal.
He said it was common for residents to worry about their health with smoke emissions clearly visible from their homes. Others complain about their livelihoods when ash falls on their farms.
Unlike Calion, most do not have the luxury of leaving town, he said.
Air quality and public health concerns
Coal’s impacts on air quality and public health are well documented. It is also the largest contributor to climate change, intensifying extreme weather—stronger typhoons, heavier floods, and prolonged droughts.
Satellite images show that the coal stockpiles of STEAG Mindanao Coal and FDC Misamis Power are covered, in accordance with coal handling guidelines of the Department of Energy “to prevent emission of fugitive coal and foul odor.”
The surroundings of the coal plants—once inhabited by residents—are lined with trees serving as windbreakers, also in compliance with government rules.
Burning coal to produce electricity for homes and industries is highly polluting. It is pulverized into fine powder and burned at high temperatures, turning water in boiler tubes into high-pressure steam. This steam spins massive turbines, which in turn drive generators to produce a steady supply of electricity fed into the power grid.
The process releases large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide, and fine particulates that fuel climate change, cause acid rain, and trigger respiratory disease.
SPI State Power Inc., operator of STEAG Mindanao Coal, told PCIJ it set up a Multi-Partite Monitoring Team (MMT) to ensure compliance with its Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), particularly on air and water quality.
It said it had not received health-related complaints from residents. “Being a responsible neighbor is important to us, and we will continue to maintain open lines of communication with our communities,” the company said.
Regene Ello, village chief of Brgy. Tambubong in Villanueva, serves on the monitoring team for the power plants.
He recalled that the community had no idea what coal was or how a coal plant operated. But when the STEAG plant went online in 2006 and smoke began rising from its chimney, health concerns quickly followed.
“To be honest, many got sick in Villanueva. Most of the illnesses were in the lungs…. But how do we say that the plant was the one that caused it?” he said.
It was raining when PCIJ visited Ello’s home. After long dry spells, rain often left black soot on the ground — presumed to be coal residues washed from the air and built up over time, Ello said.
“You don’t see it now because it’s been raining nonstop for a while,” he said.
Communities do not often have the technical capacity to monitor and document health and environmental impacts of large-scale development projects, said Carl Cesar Rebuta, a volunteer lawyer at Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center Inc., a group that helps set up community paralegal teams in Mindanao.
The LGU could raise these issues and call for remedies, he said.
In a phone interview with PCIJ, Villanueva Mayor Julio Uy said he had received reports from residents that the coal plant emitted smoke at night.
“Kung tingnan mo ‘yung chimney nila, hindi naman madumi…. Kaya lang ang national government din, wala namang nagbigay ng anong study na nagawa nila o nakita nila kung nakasira ba ng environment ang power plant natin dito (If you look at their chimney, it doesn’t really look dirty… But the national government hasn’t released any study they had conducted or findings showing whether our power plant here has harmed the environment),” Uy said.
There are several plants inside PHIVIDEC that may be causing the problems, the mayor said.
A 2019 study by the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air identified STEAG Mindanao Coal and FDC Misamis Power in Villanueva, along with the Balingasag Thermal Power Plant in Balingasag, as major CO2 emitters in Northern Mindanao. The report said their operations had made Misamis Oriental one of the provinces with the highest rates of coal-related premature deaths in the country.
Nationwide, coal-related pollution was linked to 630 premature deaths and 1,300 new cases of child asthma, among other health impacts, the study found. These translate to an annual financial burden of P8.5 billion borne by the public—hidden costs of medical treatment, hospitalization, and lost productivity from sickness.
A separate World Health Organization publication also highlights the public health benefits of phasing out coal-fired power plants. Using Canada as a case study, it shows that the shift not only reduces air pollution but also delivers billions of dollars in health gains.
STEAG Mindanao Coal was built by German firm STEAG State Power Inc. in 2006. It operated under German management until 2022, when SPI State Power Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, acquired controlling shares. FDC Misamis Power, meanwhile, was built by Filinvest Development Corp. of the Gotianun family.
Today, STEAG Mindanao Coal has been identified as a candidate for early retirement under an Asian Development Bank initiative to accelerate the shift from coal to clean energy. The move was meant to highlight the Philippines’ commitment to its energy transition strategy, which aims to raise the share of renewables in the country’s power generation output from the current 22% to 35% by 2030.
The plans have stalled, however, with the Department of Energy citing supply concerns in Mindanao due to the planned rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Hydropower Complex. Climate activists are opposing the delay.
‘I take Vitamin C to protect myself’
Johaira Chiu, 74, was displaced during the construction of the coal plant at the turn of the 21st century. They were told the smoke from the coal plant would harm them, especially children, and that they would still see the smoke at the relocation site.
She has been taking vitamins to protect her lungs from the emissions.
“Nagba-vitamin C ako…. Takot akong mamatay (I take Vitamin C…. I am afraid of dying),” she told PCIJ. She was aware of the harm of daily exposure to emissions, yet she expressed no resentment toward the plant, saying residents were also exposed to emissions from other industries at PHIVIDEC.
She credits STEAG for ending rolling blackouts in Mindanao, for its programs for senior citizens, and for helping her son secure a job abroad.
Her face lit up with pride talking about her son landing a job at the power plant, which she believes gave him the credentials to secure work abroad.
“Ang anak ko, ang first exposure niya sa work niya, from STEAG. Graduate man siya sa electrical bago siya nakapuntang Saudi (My son’s first work experience was with STEAG. He graduated in electrical engineering before he was able to go to Saudi),” she said.
“Wala nang maraming interview sa kaniya. Saka smart man ang anak ko (They no longer had to interview him that much. My son was really smart.),” she said.
The two coal-fired power plants have played a crucial role in Mindanao’s development, supplying much of the region’s growing energy needs. Their output has powered industries inside the state-owned PHIVIDEC industrial estate, which in turn has created jobs for residents of Villanueva and neighboring towns and cities.
Villanueva attracted workers from outside, pushing its population density to nearly three times the national average, although Ello, the village chief, said most locals were hired for manual labor, while engineers were brought in from elsewhere.
Poverty incidence improved with the surge in agro-industrial plantations and new industries in the region, though progress remains uneven, and nearly a fourth of Villanueva’s population is still poor.
Michelle Obasa Brioso, 46, told PCIJ how she had also aspired to work at the coal plant.
“Maganda ang pasahod. Maganda ang benepisyo. Siguro ang mga anak nila nakakapag-aral ng magandang school. Saka sabi nila libre daw ang bigas (The pay is good. The benefits are good. Maybe their children are able to study in good schools. And they said the rice is free),” she said.
Before STEAG provided jobs, college graduates left town for better opportunities, Brioso said. They now have the option to stay with their families.
In a statement, SPI Power Inc. said it had helped develop the community through various corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, focusing on education, livelihood, health and nutrition, disaster preparedness, environment, and access to electricity, among others.
Brioso was visibly upset upon the suggestion that the coal plant might be shut down. “Huwag po sanang magsara kasi sayang. Maraming nakinabang (I hope it doesn’t close down because it would be a waste. Many have benefited),” she said.
Mayor Uy was also more concerned about the jobs that would be lost and the stability of the electricity supply in Mindanao if the coal plant were shut down.
“Pag-isipan sana ng national government… Ang sa atin lang, ano ang epekto kung mawalan tayo ng kuryente dito (The national government should think about it… We’re the ones who will feel the impact if we lose electricity here),” Uy said.
Evidence of climate change in Villanueva
While the plants play an important role by supplying power to Mindanao, there are renewable energy alternatives that will not harm the people and the environment, said Ernesto Fajardo Jr., church coordinator for the League of Interactive Villanueva Environmental Advocates (LIVE).
Residents are even less aware of coal’s link to global warming and climate change. “Ang tao hindi naniniwala. Climate hoax daw,” he said.
Yet in Villanueva, evidence of climate change is everywhere, he said.
The province was among the hardest hit by Typhoon “Sendong” in 2011, whose unusual storm track and extreme rainfall were blamed on climate change. Thousands were killed in Northern Mindanao.
It was the first of four so-called 100-year floods in the last 15 years, said Bencyrus Ellorin, chairperson of the local think tank Pinoy Aksyon for Governance and the Environment. Sendong was followed by “Pablo” (2012), “Vinta” (2017), and “Odette” (2021).
“The region continues to face increased risk of storm surges, flood, and landslides,” he said.
Fajardo, who lives along the coast, also believes the receding coastline of Villanueva as well as the dwindling catch of fishermen are evidence of climate change.
“Malayo ang dagat noon. Nakakatanim pa kami gulay-gulay dito. Epekto talaga siya ng global warming (The sea used to be far from here. We were still able to plant vegetables in this area. This really is an effect of global warming),” he said.
Ellorin said these long-standing problems are caused by a confluence of factors, with “strong anecdotal evidence” that climate change is making them worse. He said localized studies would help map its impacts and better inform the public.
When PCIJ spoke with fishermen in Fajardo’s neighborhood, they confirmed the decline but attributed it to growing tourism, brushing aside any impact from the coal plants.
Climate science warns of an urgent threat, but Fajardo says many communities on the frontlines remain outside the conversation. They are not informed of the dangers they already face, he said. — PCIJ.org
